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Minn. 8th graders compare well to international students

Guests

Mike Lindstrom: Former teacher and administrator in the Anoka-Hennepin school district who's now with the group SCI-MATH Minnesota, which advocates for better math and science education

Kent Pekel: CEO of Search Institute in Minneapolis. Previously worked in the St. Paul district and University of Minnesota

If Minnesota were a country, its 8th grade science scores would rank near the top, outscored only by Singapore and Taipei, according to a new report called Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study.

Minnesota 8th graders scored high in math as well, but came in below Massachusetts and several Asian countries, according to the 2011 test data used for the report.

Minnesota students have improved their scores by a few percentage points since the tests were last given in 2007. The report only looked at one grade in math and science. There was not a reading or writing test included.

We'll discuss what we are supposed to do with this data and how we compare it to other reports that suggest areas, like the achievement gap, where Minnesota is falling short, educationally.